What is the Community Infrastructure Levy?
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allows local authorities in England and Wales to raise funds from certain types of development in their area to fund a wide range of infrastructure needed to support new development.
CIL does not replace Section 106 planning obligations which continue to be used for affordable housing provision and site-specific mitigation measures which are necessary to make a planning application acceptable in planning terms.
Developments liable for CIL
- New buildings, conversions or changes of use that create at least one new dwelling
- New build residential extensions or annexes which increase the floor area of a dwelling by 100 square metres or more
- New buildings, conversions or changes of use that create retirement homes or extra care homes
- Conversions of buildings that are not in lawful use for CIL purposes
Relief may be claimed on certain types of development, for example self-build housing, extensions, annexes and social housing.
Important: CIL is a non-negotiable levy. It is the responsibility of the developer and liable party to ensure the CIL regulations are adhered to. Non-compliance will result in penalties and the potential loss of the right to pay by instalments.
Calculate your CIL costs
Floorspace forming part of the CIL calculation is measured as gross internal area (GIA) in line with the most recent RICS Code of Measuring Practice.
Following the grant of planning permission, we will calculate your CIL liability and issue a liability notice.
You can use the online calculator to provide an indication of the level of CIL payable.
Further guidance and examples of CIL chargeable amount calculations have been published by the Valuation Office Agency.
Indexation
Indexation allows the CIL rates chargeable to be adjusted to take account of inflation. The Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (as amended) require us to use the CIL index published by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The CIL regulations require RICS to publish the CIL Index for 1 November each year, starting in 2019 and updated annually.
By 31 December we have to publish an annual CIL rate summary statement which sets out how indexation will affect all CIL chargeable development permitted in the following calendar year.
Annual CIL rate summary statements
The Annual CIL Rate Summary Statement 2025 sets out how indexation will affect CIL charges in Cheltenham Borough from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026.
CIL Form Guidance
This form is always required and should be submitted as part of your planning application, even if you believe that you may not be liable to pay.
This form is required if your approved permission is liable for CIL. Please ensure each liable party provides a contact email, postal address and telephone number. Failure to provide this form prior to the commencement of development will result in the imposition of a surcharge.
You can withdraw an assumption of liability at any time before commencement of the chargeable development by giving notice of the withdrawal in writing to us
We must receive a liability transfer notice no later than the day on which the final payment of CIL is due in respect of the chargeable development.
This form should be submitted when a development is granted by way of general consent. We must receive a commencement notice prior to the commencement of development to ensure standard payment terms are available and that surcharges are not made.
Before you commence development, we must have received and acknowledged your commencement notice. Failure to do so may result in you losing the ability to pay the levy in instalments and you may also incur a surcharge.
If you wish to claim relief, you must make an application to do so via the submission of the relevant CIL form and supporting information. This must include the particulars specified or referred to in the relevant form. You must wait for approval of the relief or exemption before commencing any works.
Cheltenham Borough Council has not adopted a discretionary CIL relief policy. The following types of development may receive relief from the CIL if eligible:
- social housing relief
- charitable relief
- self-build exemption (whole dwelling)
- residential annex exemption
- residential extension exemption
Further information
For submissions and enquiries please email cil@cheltenham.gov.uk
- If you are submitting CIL forms, please include ‘CIL forms’ and your planning application reference number in the email subject
- For a CIL liability search on a particular site or property, please enter ‘Search request’ as the subject of the email and provide as much detail as possible to help us to identify the land or property
- For further information about any aspect of CIL in Cheltenham Borough please enter ‘General CIL enquiry’ as the subject of the email
Please note: It is an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly supply information which is false or misleading in a material respect to a collecting or charging authority in response to a requirement under the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations (2010) as amended (regulation 110, SI 2010/948). A person guilty of an offence under this regulation may face unlimited fines, two years imprisonment, or both.